Awakened Destiny
by EventuallyConcedes
Summary: After the Fall of Reach, Noble Team and Master Chief are forced to work together during the events of the first Halo ring. Chief must learn to work within a Team, whilst Noble try and understand the Halo ring and the secrets it hides. Sequel to Forevermore, rated M for language. Pairings include Jorge/Six (Scarlett) & Carter/Kat in later chapters.
1. Introduction

**A/N: Just wanted to make the Introduction for this, the actual introduction of the game.**

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**Awakened Density - Introduction**

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The Pillar of Autumn had escaped Reach, barely though. Covenant ground forces had been tough, and there was always the constant awareness for everybody that Covenant could be following.  
Because of this, Jacob Keyes, Captain of The Pillar of Autumn was becoming increasingly worried. "All I need to know Cortana, is did we lose them?" He asked Cortana.  
"I think we both know the answer to that, Sir." Cortana replied, her avatar flickering up on the console.  
Keyes sighed, frustrated that the Covenant somehow had been able to follow them, "We made a blind jump. How did they―"  
"Get here first? The Covenant ships have always been faster," Cortana interrupted him. "As for tracking us all the way from Reach...at light speed, my maneuvering options were limited."  
Keyes began pacing, looking at several view screens. "We were running dark, yes?"  
"Until we decelerated, no one could have missed the hole we tore in subspace." Cortana replied.  
Keyes walked over to a bridge crewman, looking over his shoulder at the screen; the screen showed Installation 04 in orbit around a threshold. The crewman began pushing some buttons.  
"They were waiting for us on the far side of the planet." Cortana told Keyes.  
"So, where do we stand?" Keyes asked.  
"Our fighters are mopping up the last of their recon picket now, nothing serious,"  
Keyes walked back to the front of the bridge, looking at the main screen.  
"...But I've isolated approach signatures from multiple CCS-class battle groups, make it three capital ships per group. And in about 90 seconds they'll be all over us." Cortana finished.  
Keyes closed his eyes wearily, stressed about the current situation. "Well, that's it then. Bring the ship back up to Combat Alert Alpha. I want everyone at their stations." Keyes ordered, opening his eyes again.  
"Everyone, sir?" Cortana asked, surprised.  
"_Everyone._" Keyes firmly replied.  
Cortana sounded the klaxon alarm. Crewmen began running around, frantically trying to get to their stations.  
"And Cortana..."  
"Hm?" Cortana's avatar appeared again on the console.  
"Let's give our old friends a welcome..." Keyes replied, a smug grin playing at the side at the side of his mouth.  
Cortana smirked slightly at this, "I've already begun." She replied.

Meanwhile, in the main hold of the Autumn, a marine was guiding a Pelican into the correct docking position using light batons.  
"Attention, all combat personnel: Please report to your action stations," Cortana's voice sounded over COMMS. "5th Platoon, secure airlocks on Deck 11. 14th Platoon, rendezvous with 22nd Tactical at bulkhead Charlie 14."  
Marines began getting themselves organised for the Covenant; preparing their weapons and readying Scorpions and Warthogs.  
Suddenly, Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson began walking through a line of marines, who stood up straight in his presence.  
"You heard the lady! Move like you've got a purpose!" Johnson ordered.  
"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill." Cortana repeated over COMMS.  
"Men, we led those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. But we stumbled onto somethin' they're so hot for, that they're scramblin' over each other to get it. Well, I don't care if it's God's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant hula hoop, we're not gonna let 'em have it! What we will let 'em have...is a belly full of lead, and a pool of their own blood to drown in!" Johnson yelled at the marines, trying to motivate them.  
Suddenly, he turned around, "Am I right, Marines?"  
"Sir, yes sir!" The marines yelled.  
"Uh-huh. Damn right, I am," Johnson replied. "Now move it out! Double time!"  
"Attention, all personnel: We are re-engaging the enemy. Internal and external contact imminent." Cortana informed everybody onboard the Autumn.  
"All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close...this is gonna be your lucky day." Johnson told them. The marines cut their formation and headed off to their respected posts, Johnson following slowly.


	2. The Pillar of Autumn

**A/N: This is the sequel to Forevermore, where Noble Team finally join up with Chief. I'm hoping to do this a series, up to Halo 3, so let me know what you all think.**

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**_AWAKENED DESTINY CHAPTER 1_ - The Pillar of Autumn**

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Meanwhile, in the base of the Autumn, the technicians had just received a message from Cortana on the computer screen.  
The message read,  
**'X - CORTANA 1 0 CRYOSTOR. 23.4.7 (PRIORITY ALPHA) UNSEAL THE HUSHED CASKETS.'**  
"Whoa, all of them?" The first technician asked out-loud.  
"Right. Let's thaw 'em out." The chief technician replied.  
The first technician began pressing buttons, looking up at the seven cyro-tubes holding the Chief and NOBLE Team, "Okay. Bringing low-level systems online. Cracking the cases in thirty seconds."  
"They're hot! Blowing the pins in five..." The technicians stood in the middle of room, ready to welcome all the SPARTANs.  
The Chief Technician saluted at the Spartans, "Sorry for the quick thaw, SPARTANs. Things are a little hectic right now. The disorientation should pass quickly."  
The other technician waved at the Chief, "Welcome back, sir," Upon realising Noble were also awake, he hastily added, "And Noble Team. We'll have you battle ready stat." Carter narrowed his eyes at the technician which almost failed, as he vision was still a little blurry from just being woken up from cyro-sleep. Even so, he was happy to be back and working with his Team in the battlefield. The extra addition of Chief was something Carter would have to get used to, as Chief wasn't technically part of his Team.  
He wasn't sure if he could give Chief orders now.  
"I'm bringing your health monitors online." The technician told all of them. "Vital signs look normal. No Freezer burn. Okay, go ahead and climb out of your cryo tubes."  
All of the SPARTANs climbed out of the cyro-tubes. Scarlett blinked a few times, trying to get her vision back to normal. She looked over at Jorge, who also seemed to be trying to adjust to his vision, too. Scarlett wanted to go over to him and hug him, even just talk to him. It seemed as if it had been too long. But she refrained herself from doing so, knowing they'd been woken up early for an important reason.  
"I gave you all a double dose of the wake-up stim. We'll have have to do you all separately. Take a quick walk around the cryo bay. Chief, join me at the optical diagnostics station when you're ready."

After the optical diagnosis and energy shield tests had been done for everyone, Keyes suddenly spoke up over COMMS, "Bridge to Cryo 2, this is Captain Keyes. Send the Master Chief and Noble to the bridge immediately."  
"Captain, we'll have to skip the weapons diagnostics and I-"  
"On the double, crewman." Keyes interrupted him.  
"Aye aye, sir," The chief technician replied. He turned back to a Chief and Noble Team. "The skipper seems jumpy, we'd better get moving. We'll find you weapons later."  
Jorge frowned slightly, annoyed he wouldn't have a turret or a weapon similar to that until they got the Captain. He was concerned that hostiles could easily sneak up on them whilst they were vulnerable. Ever since the Fall of Reach, and the way everybody on the Team has almost died, Jorge felt a lot more protective for his Team.  
"Okay. I'll leave the self-diagnostics running, at least." The technician mused.  
"Good idea. You'd better get to your evac group, Sam!" The chief technician replied.  
"Affirmative. Just have to reset the computer and I'm outta here!"  
Jorge's head snapped up at the sound of banging on the observation door. Alarm lights began flashing. "What's going on?" He asked aloud. Scarlett took Jorge's hand, worried that Covenant were near when they couldn't defend themselves properly. Jorge smiled down at her, but his smile soon faded, as he heard, "Oh God! They're trying to get through the door!"  
The door burst open; a minor killed the technician quickly.  
"We need to go, now!" Carter ordered, his eyes on the Elite above them. The Elite turned around and tried to shoot at the SPARTANs below, but the plasma failed to get through the glass. Sensing this was useless, the Elite fled.  
The chief technician became panicked at the sight of his friend dying. "Sam! Sam!" He turned back to the SPARTANs. "C'mon, we've got to get the hell out of here!"  
The chief technician unlocked the door, "This way!" He yelled at the SPARTANs, jogging ahead. The Technician lead Master Chief and Noble out of Cryo 2, and down a corridor. Upon trying to upon the second door, it suddenly exploded, killing him in the process.  
Scarlett gasped at the sudden death of him. Jorge held her hand in a comforting gesture, and together they followed Chief, who seemed to be looking for a way out, followed by the remainder of the Team.  
"Behind us! They're right behind us!" A crewman yelled. A few crewmen ran into the room just as the doors were being sealed.  
"Secure those blast doors! Move! _MOVE_!" A marine yelled. A few crewmen began running from a blast.  
"Wait for me!" A third yelled, but was killed just as he reached the blast doors.  
"Alert! All hands, boarding parties on port decks Four, Seven, and Twelve. Baker Team move to engage." Cortana ordered over COMMS.  
"Follow me." Master Chief suddenly told Noble Team.  
Carter was slightly irritated, as he was the leader of Noble, but did as he was told regardless.  
They found their way to another room, where they came face to face with a Minor Elite. It growled at them, but was suddenly attacked by Marines, and the Elite eventually fled. "SPARTANs! Cortana says get to the bridge, double quick!" A marine informed Chief and Noble.  
"SPARTANs!" Chip Dubbo spoke up. "The Captain needs you on the bridge, ASAP! You better follow me."  
They followed Dubbo through a room full of dead and wounded Marines. Outside there was another fight breaking out between the crew and the Covenant.  
"Get clear!" The blast doors closed, locking the Covenant out.

Finally, they all had reached the bridge. "Captain Keyes is waiting for you!" They approached Keyes, Chief stepping forward to greet him in representation of them all.  
"Captain Keyes." Chief greeted Keyes, shaking his hand.  
"Good to see you, SPARTANs. Things aren't going well. Cortana did her best, but we never really had a chance."  
Cortana's avatar appeared on the holotank, "A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills." She turned towards Chief and Noble Team. "Sleep well?"  
"No thanks to your driving, yes," Chief replied before anyone else could get a word in.  
Cortana smiled, "So you did miss me."  
Suddenly, loud explosion rocked the bridge. The Chief lurched forward; Scarlett grabbed Jorge's forearm for support, Carter quickly grabbed onto Kat, whilst Jun and Emile looked around in confusion. Keyes grabbed a pedestal for support.  
"What the hell was that?" Emile questioned, clearly confused himself.  
Keyes straightened himself. "Report!"  
"It must have been one of their boarding parties! I'd guess an Antimatter Charge!" Cortana responded.  
"Ma'am! Fire control to the main cannon is offline!"  
"Captain, the cannon was my last offensive option." Cortana informed Keyes, unsure of what to do now.  
"Alright then. I'm initiating Cole Protocol, Article 2. We're abandoning the Autumn. That means you too, Cortana." Keyes decided.  
"While you do what, go down with the ship?"  
"In a manner of speaking. The object we found, I'm going to try and land the Autumn on it."  
Cortana shook her head, "With all due respect, sir, this war has _enough dead heroes_."  
"I appreciate your concern, Cortana, but it's not up to me. Protocol is clear. Destruction or capture of a shipboard AI is absolutely unacceptable, that means you're leaving the ship. Lock in a selection of emergency landing zones, upload them to my neural lace, and then sort yourself for a hard transfer."  
Cortana nodded, defeated, "Aye aye, sir." Her avatar disappeared from the console.  
"Which is where you come in, SPARTANs. Get Cortana off this ship. Keep her safe from the enemy. If they capture her, they'll learn everything. Force deployment, weapons research... Earth."  
"I understand." Chief responded in representation of them all.  
Cortana's avatar re-emerged onto the console, "The Autumn will continue evasive maneuvers until you initiate a landing sequence. Not that you'll listen, but I'd suggest letting my subroutines handle the final approach."  
Keyes nodded. "Excellent work, Cortana. Thank you. Are you ready?"  
Cortana looked at the bridge for a moment, before sighing softly. "Yank me."  
Captain Keyes pulled the data chip out of the holotank and gives to the Master Chief.  
"Good luck, Master Chief. Good luck to you all."  
The Chief slid the chip into the back of his helmet.  
"Hmm...your architecture isn't much different from the Autumn's..." Cortana mused.  
"Don't get any funny ideas." Chief warned her.  
Scarlett watched them, wondering what it was like to have an AI so close to you. The Team had had Auntie Dot, but she was with all of them, as compared to Cortana being with just Chief.

Keyes handed Chief his pistol. "I don't keep it loaded, son. You'll have to find ammo as you go," He turned to Noble Team. "As for the rest of you, you'll have to find weapons as you go."  
Carter nodded, "Will do, Sir."  
Keyes returned the nod and turned back to the main screen.  
Chief gestured to the doorway leading off the bridge. "Let's go." He said simply.  
Scarlett got the thought that he didn't talk much, much like how she was when she had first lost Jack. After Chief killed a group of Grunts with his pistol, the group case across a mess hall, where some marines had already engaged Covenant forces.  
"Those Marines could use some help! Do what you do best!" Cortana urged the group.  
Finally, Noble Team came across some weapons themselves. Chief switched his Pistol for an Assault Rifle, whilst Scarlett and Kat got Pistols themselves; Jorge, Emile, Jun and Carter, unable to find their own trademark weapons, settled for Assault Rifles.  
After successfully neutralising all the Covenant in the Mess Hall, Chief jogged ahead, everybody following. Scarlett hung back slightly, running with Jorge.  
"So, is Chief taking charge now, or something?" She wondered out-loud.  
"He probably knows the ship better than us," Jorge replied. "Can't imagine the Commander is too happy with all this, though." He added with a slight chuckle.  
"Let's just do what we need to do." Carter snapped from his position ahead.  
Scarlett was surprised that Carter had even been able to hear them from where he was; Scarlett suspected he was on high alert.  
Suddenly, the Autumn started started shaking violently. Jorge quickly wrapped an arm around Scarlett's waist, supporting her. She held into his arms and looked around the ship, wondering what was causing the shake. It subsided after a few moments, and Scarlett steadied herself back up. Jorge kept one arm wrapped around her waist, and looked down at her, "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.  
Scarlett nodded. "I just wondered what had hit us...Are you alright?" She asked him in return.  
Jorge nodded. "Yeah."  
"Everybody alright?" Carter asked, focusing more on his Team than Chief and Cortana. Everybody mumbled a few responses in turn, and Carter nodded, assuming that this meant they were all okay.  
They came around a corner, where two marines were standing by an airlock.  
"Did something hit us?" One asked out-loud.  
"Move it! Back to the airlock!" The other yelled.  
The airlock suddenly exploded, killing both marines. Covenant troops poured into the hallway, immediately engaging Chief and Noble Team.  
"We've been engaged!" Carter yelled, firing at a nearby Elite.  
Emile chucked a few grenades, killing most of the grunts. Jun stood back slightly, not having a Sniper Rifle and not wanting to go into close quarters.  
After the hostiles had been killed, Chief peered into the airlock. Cortana examined it, before saying, "They're using our lifeboat airlocks to attach their boarding craft. We go out and they come in! Clever bastards..."  
They advanced through a few more rooms. After encountering more Covenant forces, Cortana realised the lifeboats were already beginning to launch, "The lifepods are launching! We should hurry."  
"_All remaining crew and Ops personnel, hit the lifeboats! Fall back to evac stations_." Keyes sounded over COMMS.  
Plasma beams began shooting the lifeboats; a few escaped, but another exploded.  
"The Covenant are destroying the lifepods...they really don't want us on that ring." Cortana mused.  
"What are they hiding, then?" Jorge asked out-loud.  
"We'll find out in due time." Kat replied, reloading her Pistol.  
"Let's just get the lifepods." Carter snapped again, clearly stressed at the current situation.  
They passed more blast doors, which had begun to close. "Warning! Blast doors closing!" Cortana yelled. She paused for a moment, before adding, "We'll have to use the ship's maintenance access ways. Follow the NAV point, it will lead you to an opening."

They entered the tunnel; Noble Team turned on their night vision, whilst Chief turned on his flashlight.  
"Ah, back in the shadows, just what I like." Jun mused.  
"The team Sniper, then?" Cortana suddenly asked.  
"He is." Carter grouchily replied. They cane across a access door back into a corridor, but it was surrounded by hostiles.  
"They're right on top of us! We need to find another way through." Cortana told them.  
They came across another door, but more hostiles surrounded it. "We're too close! We need to find another route." Cortana told them again.  
Finally, they came across another door leading to a darkened room. Seeing that their motion tracker was all clear, the SPARTANs continued onwards. They came across a broken door, where Cortana suddenly halted them, "Wait. We need to get through that door, but it's been damaged by an explosion. Analysing... The door's control mechanism is offline, but it's taken a lot of damage. You should be able to bash it open with the butt of your weapon."  
"Let Jorge do that, he's stronger." Carter suddenly spoke up.  
Chief nodded and rearranged himself, allowing Jorge to step forward. It took minimal effort; the door was broken open in a matter of seconds.  
They found themselves above the cyro chamber they had started in. The Elites had finally managed to get down there, and looked around in confusion, as if they were expecting the SPARTANs to be in their cyro-tubes.  
Cortana, seeing this suddenly spoke up, "It looks like the Covenant wanted to catch you all napping." She informed them.  
The Elites suddenly noticed the SPARTANs again and began opening fire on them, which once again failed, due to the protective glass. Once again, they fled.  
"Not the brightest bunch, eh?" Jun said. At last, the SPARTANs made it to the extensively damaged part of the ship, where the last lifeboat was waiting.  
"The damage to the superstructure is extensive... I don't know how much more abuse the Autumn can take." Cortana told them.  
After fighting through more waves of Covenant attackers, they finally made it the last lifeboat. "There's one last lifeboat! Quickly, get aboard before it launches!" Cortana ordered.

Everybody ran onboard, Chief behind them.  
Jorge and Scarlett held hands, trying to get each other to hurry up and get onboard.  
"Chief! Come on!" Scarlett yelled to the Chief, who had just picked up a panicking marine and thrown him onboard.  
Slowly, Chief stepped into the lifeboat, holding onto a handhold on the ceiling. The marine thrown on crawled onto a seat next to Scarlett.  
"Punch it." Chief ordered the Pilot, who responded with, "Aye aye, sir!"  
Suddenly, the lifeboat launched itself out of the airlock.  
"We're disengaged. Goin' for minimum safe distance." The pilot informed everybody onboard. The marine who Chief had hastily thrown onboard began panicking again.  
He turned to Scarlett. "We're gonna make it, aren't we? I don't wanna die out here!"  
Scarlett nodded at him firmly. "We'll be fine." She encouraged the marine.  
"Look!" Cortana suddenly shouted. Up ahead lay the Halo ring.  
"What is that thing, Lieutenant?" A marine asked the pilot.  
"Hell if I know, but we're landin' on it." The pilot firmly replied.  
"_The Autumn! She's been hit_!" The panicked marine shouted.  
Chief turned around and watched the Autumn as it was hit by multiple Plasma Torpedoes.  
"_I knew it!_ The Autumns accelerating, Keyes is going in manually!" Cortana informed the SPARTANs.  
"Heads up everyone, this is it! We're entering the ring's atmosphere in five!" The pilot informed everyone onboard.  
"Sure you wouldn't rather take a seat?" Cortana asked Chief, who was still standing.  
"We'll be fine." The Chief firmly replied, gripping the walls lifeboat and bending his knees.  
"If I still had fingers, they'd be crossed..." Cortana replied.


	3. Halo

**A/N: Apologises for the long wait between update times; Hopefully I'll be updating this more frequently.**  
**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and/or followed! I really appreciate the support for this so far. :3**

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_**AWAKENED DESTINY CHAPTER 2 - **_**Halo**

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Things weren't going quite as planned for Noble Team and Master Chief.  
The bumble-bee craft they had boarded had entered the atmosphere of Halo too quickly, and now was smoking. They were heading towards the ground far too quickly.  
"What's going on?" Carter snapped, looking directly at Chief, knowing that Cortana should have some answers.  
"We're coming in too fast!" Cortana replied, clearly stressed herself.  
"_Wonderful_," Carter replied sarcastically. He worried for his Team; they had barely survived Reach, and he had hoped that joining Chief and Cortana would be a fresh-start, minus all the near-death experiences.  
The whole craft coming into too quickly reminded Carter far too much of when he was in the Pelican, more than ready to sacrifice himself for Scarlett and Emile. He looked over at Kat, who was looking around the craft curiously. She had helped him escape; he was just pleased that she had at least survived the events of New Alexandria.  
"Damn! Air brake failure!" The pilot suddenly spoke up. "They blew too early! I'm losin' her. Brace for impact!"  
Scarlett shut her eyes tightly, gripping Jorge's hand as the craft hit the ground with a violent crash.

"Noble? Chief? Can you hear me?"  
Chief groaned and stood up.  
Carter nodded, picking himself up, "We hear you." He informed Cortana, speaking for all of them. Carter looked quickly at everyone else, who appeared to be alright.  
"At last!" Cortana replied, relieved that they were alive. "Are you alright? Can you move?" She asked.  
Chief nodded, moving out of the wreck, everyone close behind. Chief turned at look back at the wreck, seeing all the marines that were with them - Including the Pilot - Dead.  
"The others...the impact. There's nothing we can do." Cortana informed the others quietly.  
Carter nodded, "Alright. What's the plan?"  
"Let's find out more about this place. Have a look around." John replied in a deep voice, which surprised everyone. He had never spoken until now.  
Whilst John and Carter marched ahead, clearly competing for the Leadership role of the group, Scarlett and Jorge hung behind a little bit.  
Scarlett poked Jorge, "So, do you remember Chief from training? Y'know, with him being a II as well."  
Jorge chuckled at the memories drifting into his head and nodded. "Yeah, John was always a favourite of Halsey. Pretty exceptional in training, too. I heard he was the Leader of Blue Team for some time, but he's now sort of merged with us for the time being."  
"That would explain this whole Leadership rivalry with the Commander, then." Scarlett replied, nodding her head towards Chief and Carter, who were arguing about where to go.  
Jorge chuckled at this again, nodding. "Yeah."  
"I'm reading thousands of types of flora," Cortana suddenly interrupted, "The ring's ecosystem is incredibly sophisticated."  
"I say we go across the bridge, see what we can find." Carter suggested, receiving a curt nod from Chief in response.  
They had only just made it across the Bridge, when Cortana spoke up again. "Alert! Covenant Drop ship inbound! They must be looking for survivors. I recommend immediate evasion!"  
Carter suddenly stopped. "Hold up. There's more than enough of us here to hold 'em off. How about we spilt up. Half on this side of the Bridge, half on the over side, holding the Covenant off."  
John nodded, "Alright."  
"Jorge, Scarlett, Jun, you stay on this side, see what's over those hills. Chief, Kat, Emile and I will hold the Covenant off best we can," Carter ordered. "Move!" He signalled to over the hills; Jorge nodded, and began heading that way, followed closely by Scarlett and Jun.  
Carter, Kat, Emile and John headed back across the Bridge, ready to fend off the Covenant.  
"Alert! Covenant drop ship has detected us, here they come." Cortana informed Carter, Emile, Kat and John.

Meanwhile, Jorge, Scarlett and Jun were edging closer to a group of survivors.  
Cortana had been tracking them, and quickly informed them, "I'm reading a lifeboat beacon over the next hill. You should check to see if there are any survivors."  
They soon came across a group of marines. "Good to see you, SPARTANs!" Private Bisenti greeted them, "I thought we were the only ones to make it off of the Pillar of Autumn!"  
Jorge nodded, "What's the situation here?" He asked.  
Sergeant Johnson sighed, "It's a mess, sir. We're scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but until you showed up, I thought we were cooked."  
Jorge nodded, just as Cortana added, "Don't worry, Sergeant. We'll stay here until evac arrives."  
Private Mendoza, who was behind some structures, suddenly sounded over COMMS, "Heads up! I got a Covenant drop ship headin' in, over here!"  
"Let's see if we can get some better viewpoints from inside the structure." Jun suggested, pulling out his Sniper Rifle.  
"Good idea, Jun. Scarlett and I will fend off any ground forces, whilst you snipe them from above."  
Jun nodded, heading up into the structure.  
Scarlett smiled up at Jorge. "That was quite the Leadership role you took on there."  
Jorge smiled in return. "Well, someone needed to take on a role, even if it is temporary."

Meanwhile, Carter, Kat, Emile and Chief had finally neutralised all the hostiles that were by them.  
"Noble, all hostiles down; we're coming to you." Carter informed Jorge, Scarlett and Jun over COMMS.  
"Just over the hill, you should see some structures...and well, more Covenant." Scarlett responded over COMMS.  
"How many Covies are we gonna encounter today?" Emile questioned.  
Just as they arrived to Jorge, Scarlett and Jun's position, another drop-ship was coming in.  
"Look sharp! Covenant drop ship on approach! I could use some help over here!" Private Mendoza sounded again over the COMMS.  
"Alright, Noble, we'll head over there first." Carter ordered them. He then turned to Chief, "You just do what you do best."  
Chief nodded slowly, and decided to join Jorge and Scarlett. John wasn't too keen on Carter, mainly because of the personality clash between them.  
After defeating the hostiles in the area, yet more came in.  
"Uh-oh, another bandit droppin' in behind us! They're tryin' to flank us!" Mendoza warned them.

Finally, the area was secure.  
"This is Pelican Echo 419. Anybody read me? Repeat: any UNSC personnel, respond." Foehammer suddenly sounded over COMMS.  
"Roger, Echo 419," Cortana replied, "This is Fire Team Charlie. We read you. Is that you, Foehammer?"  
"Roger, Fire Team Charlie. Good to hear from ya!" Foehammer replied.  
"If you're not too busy, Foehammer, we could use a lift. We have survivors to transport to the Command Shuttle." Cortana informed Foehammer.  
"I'm on my way."  
"Look, more lifeboats!" Cortana shouted out, causing John to look up at the lifeboats entering atmosphere.  
"They're coming in fast," Cortana continued, "If those lifeboats make it down, the Covenant are going to be right on top of them. Foehammer, we need you to disengage your Warthogs. The SPARTANs and I are going to see if we can save some soldiers."  
"Roger, Cortana," Foehammer replied. "Okay, Charlie Team, Warthogs deployed. Saddle up and give 'em hell!"  
"Roger, Foehammer. Stand by to evac survivors and transport them to safety."  
"That's affirmative. Echo 419 staying on station. Foehammer out."  
"Alright, we've got enough men, I think," Cortana mused, "But do you think you can spare a few more men?"  
"Sure, Cortana," Johnson replied. "All right ladies, volunteers step up on the double! The rest of you, get to the drop ship."  
"We need to find where each lifeboat has landed," Cortana informed everybody in the Warthogs, just as a NAV point appeared on their HUDs.  
The Warthogs began approaching the large cave structure, continuing onwards, and entering the cave.  
"This cave is not a natural formation," Cortana mused, receiving a snort from Emile. "Someone built it, so it must lead somewhere." She finished, seemingly oblivious of Emile.  
"I've hacked into the Covenant battle-net," Cortana informed them. "They're actually broadcasting tactical data on unencrypted channels! We should show them who they're dealing with. Master Chief, I'm going to use your suit's transponder system to monitor their chatter."  
They all clambered out of their Warthogs' and surveyed the area. There was a chasm dividing the floor into two halves.  
John squinted, but found no visible way to cross. Suddenly, Covenant began crawling out of the shadows, causing Jorge to open fire with an Assault Rifle. He was still missing his turret - It was almost a part of him - He just hoped he'd get it back. _Soon_.  
Hearing Jorge suddenly open fire, the rest of the Team turned their attention to him. Seeing him under fire, everybody began assisting.  
"There must be some mechanism to cross this cavern. Look for a control panel or switch." Cortana informed them.  
"Jun, your sharp eyes should help in finding that switch. Scarlett, go with him, provide some covering fire." Carter ordered.  
Both Scarlett and Jun nodded, finding a balcony, where the control switch was located, and activated it.  
Four giant silver beam-generating structures extended across the chasm, and an energy bridge slowly faded into coherence. Everybody quickly re-entered their Warthogs', and continued across the energy bridge.

Upon entering the other side, they navigated through tunnels.  
"New traffic on the Covenant Battlenet... a lot more crew made it off the Autumn than I had predicted - the Captain really gave them hell!" Cortana informed, surprised herself. "If we can find Captain Keyes and other survivors, we have a chance to coordinate an effective resistance."  
The Team approached a crash site by a rock slide, where some marines were being pinned down by Covenant forces.  
"Survivors detected. Marines are concealed in those rocks." Cortana informed them.  
"Contact! Covenant drop ship, down there!" One of the marines shouted out.  
The Covenant began charging into the rocks, which alarmed the marines, "Fall back! Fall back!" Another yelled.  
Once the area was clear, Foehammer sounded over COMMS, "Echo 419 to Cortana, come in."  
"We read you, Echo 419. We have survivors and need immediate dust-off." Cortana replied.  
"Roger, Cortana. On my way. I've spotted additional lifeboats in your area. One near the cliff edge. And another near the head of the river. Hard to see from my altitude, but it looks like there are more survivors."  
"Acknowledged. We're on our way."

They approached the river head crash site.  
"There are some Marines, hiding in the hills above the structure." Cortana informed them again.  
John got out of his Warthog, heading over to the marines.  
"You're a sight for sore eyes Chief. We're in a bad way. We've got wounded here." A marine informed John.  
"I'll call in a dropship to pick them up." Cortana said, as John nodded. Suddenly, a drop ship came into view.  
"Drop ship, inbound!" Jorge called out, just as the Warthogs were pelted by shots from the drop ship.  
John quickly got back into his Warthog, and began defending the marines, along with the rest of Noble Team.  
Soon enough, the area was secured.  
"Echo 419 to Cortana, Foehammer's on station and ready for another pickup." Foehammer told Cortana.  
"Affirmative, Foehammer. We're ready for dust off, approach when ready. We're going to look for the last lifeboat, Echo 419, good luck." Cortana responded. "Warning! I've picked up reports that the Covenant have located and secured the Pillar of Autumn's crash site," Cortana informed them. "The good news is the Captain's still alive. The bad news is that the Covenant has captured the entire surviving command crew. Let's hurry and find the final lifeboat, so we can link up with the rest of the survivors."  
The Team approached the final lifeboat, but found no bodies. "Lifeboat detected. No sign of survivors..." Cortana informed them all, quite confused herself.  
"The lifeboat's totalled, SPARTANs. There are weapons and supplies everywhere, but I can't find any bodies. Maybe somebody made it out of here alive." Fitzgerald informed the group.  
They began to descend a hill, and saw a structure on the cliff edge.  
"Maybe they took cover in that structure," Cortana mused, "Let's check it out."  
They finally got inside the structure, finding a group of marines attacking Covenant forces.  
"I've called for evac." Cortana informed the marines.  
"Roger that. Marines! Assemble for evac, pronto!" A marine called out to the others.  
"Let's give them an assist." Carter suggested.  
Everybody climbed out of their Warthogs, helping the marines. With the combined forces of the marines and seven SPARTANs, the Covenant were easily taken care of.  
"That's the last of them." Cortana informed Foehammer.  
"Roger that," Foehammer replied over COMMS, "I'm on my way."  
"New traffic on the Covenant battlenet. I've found Captain Keyes!" Cortana exclaimed "He's being held on a Covenant cruiser, the Truth and Reconciliation, a ship I disabled before we abandoned the Autumn. The Truth and Reconciliation touched down on a desert plateau roughly three hundred kilometers up-spin."  
Echo 419 finally arrived.  
"There's our ride. Get aboard, and let's get out of here." Cortana suggested.  
"Welcome aboard, SPARTANs. Ready for dust-off."  
"We should move out, Lieutenant. And then we'll need your help on our rescue mission." Cortana said.

Finally, Echo 419 left the area, with Noble Team and Master Chief, having rescued all the survivors from the Pillar of Autumn.


	4. The Truth and Reconciliation

**_AWAKENED DESTINY CHAPTER 3_ - The Truth and Reconciliation **

* * *

"The enemy has captured Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their cruisers, the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship is currently holding position approximately three hundred meters above the other end of this plateau." Cortana informed everybody onboard the Pelican.  
"So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings." A marine spoke up, skeptical.  
"Gravity Lift?" Kat suggested.  
"Yep, there's a Gravity Lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface," Sergeant Parker replied. "That's our ticket in."  
"Once we get inside the ship, I should be able to lock on to the tracking signal from Captain Keyes' neural implants." Cortana said.  
The Pelican landed on ground to close to The Truth and Reconciliation.  
"Everybody out!" A marine shouted.  
"Hit it Marines, go go go! The Corps ain't payin' us by the hour!" Sergeant Parker yelled.  
Everybody grabbed their weapons and jumped out of the Pelican. Carter scanned the area, seeing hostiles already.  
"Stick to the higher ground on the right," Cortana advised, "We should be able to recon the Covenant position without being spotted. I'm detecting Covenant Stationary Guns near the next pass. I recommend using your Sniper Rifle to take out the gunners while I call for Marine support."  
Jun smirked, pleased that he already had a Sniper Rifle. Everybody excluding the Chief and Jun groaned, annoyed that they hadn't been more prepared for this mission.  
"Get ready to move in to support us, Sergeant," Cortana suddenly spoke to Parker, "The Master Chief and Noble Team are going to covertly take out as many of the Covenant as they can. Don't open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should let us keep the element of surprise."  
Jun and Chief silently snuck ahead, sniping any hostiles they could see. Quickly, they sniped the Grunts in the Shade Turrets, then focused their attention on the Elites and Jackals in the area. After sniping a jackal, the Covenant in the area suddenly became area of the group, and opened fire on them.  
"Let 'em have it!" Parker yelled out. The Marines and Noble Team opened fire, whilst Jun and John sniped.  
An Elite suddenly charged towards the group, but was quickly sniped by Chief before Jun could.  
"Ooh, nice shot!" Jun praised John, who simply shrugged in turn.  
John scanned the area again, but it seemed clear, "Hey, we did it!" A marine suddenly shouted happily, "We're right behind you, Chief!"  
John nodded, and began moving up the slope, but was suddenly halted by Cortana, "Stop. Motion tracker shows movement around the next bend."  
"We're ready to advance as soon as you call for us, Cortana." Parker replied.  
The group started moving further up the plateau. "Covenant forces detected up ahead," Cortana warned the group. "The path up on the left should let us sneak up around them." She finished.  
"We'll hang back while you get into position, SPARTANs." Parker told the group of SPARTANs.  
The group decided to take the left flank, and quickly got rid of the hostiles.  
"Cortana to Fire Team Charlie. The Chief has the left flank covered. Recommend you move up the middle." Cortana advised the marines.  
"Roger that." A marine replied. They began opening fire on the remaining Covenant, and with the support of John and the rest of Noble, the Covenant were soon taken care of.  
A drop ship headed in, dropping off let more Covenant, "Alert! Covenant drop ship inbound!" Cortana warned.  
As before, the Covenant were easily handled.  
Carter nodded, pleased with the progress the group so far had made. "Good job, guys." He praised them, receiving nods and a few mumbled 'thanks' from the rest of the group.  
"Well, we need to get up there somehow," Carter spoke up again. "Cortana, do you have a plan?"  
"The Commander is right. If we're gonna board that thing, we need a plan." A Marine agreed.  
"The Covenant use a Gravity Lift to ferry troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. We need to ambush them at the Grav Lift's loading zone, and use the lift to enter the ship."  
"Oh, is that all!" A marine spoke up. "That's us, the few, the proud, the expendable."  
Suddenly, a group of Elites, Grunts and Jackals came down from the Gravity Lift.  
"Covenant forces sighted! Let's hit 'em, Charlie Team!" Parker yelled.  
"Crap, those stationary guns are gonna tear us to pieces!" A marine pointed out, already concerned.  
A grunt immediately through a grenade towards Scarlett, who appeared unaware of the danger hurling towards her.  
"_GRENADE_!" Jorge yelled, allowing Scarlett to quickly try and evade the grenade. Unfortunately, the full force of the explosion had thrown Scarlett off her feet, lowering her shields, and making her vulnerable to Covenant attacks.  
Jorge immediately rushed over to Scarlett, already worried that she was too badly injured to go on.  
Carter had seen what happened and quickly ordered the group to give sufficient covering fire to Jorge and Scarlett, "Give 'em some covering fire!"  
Whilst the remainder of the Team dealt with the Covenant, Jorge gently asked, "Are you okay?"  
Scarlett nodded and got back on her feet, with some support from Jorge. "Yeah, I'm fine, just wasn't expecting that."  
Jorge nodded, handing her back her weapons. Soon enough, they were able to continue fighting with the others.

The Team had just finished clearing up the hostiles, when another Spirit approached. "Alert! Covenant Dropships are inbound!" Cortana warned the group.  
"Man, there's always something…" A marine commented.  
Two hunters were dropped off. "Oh no! Hunters!" Scarlett called out.  
"I've got this!" Jun shouted, sniping the Hunters with John, whilst the rest of the Team distracted. Soon enough, the Hunters were down.  
"This area's clear. No hostiles present. Marines, secure the grav lift and prepare for boarding!" Parker ordered the marines.  
"Yes, sir!" A marine replied.  
Carter decided to take charge of Leadership for the SPARTANs. "Get prepped Team, we're going up."  
"Once we're inside the ship, I can home in on the Captain's command-neural interface. He'll probably be in or near the ship's brig, which should narrow our search." Cortana informed the group.  
"_Whoa_!" A marine shouted, as he began to be lifted into the air.  
"_Yee-haw_!" A second marine shouted.  
The SPARTANs also started to lift upwards, heading towards the entrance of the Truth and Reconciliation.  
Finally, the group were inside the Battle Cruiser. "We're in. I've got a good lock on the Captain's CNI transponder," Cortana informed the group.  
"...No Covenant defences detected." She added.  
"What, there's no Covenant here? I'm thinking maybe nobody's home…" A marine replied.  
"Probably hiding." Emile commented. This was a Covenant ship after all, there _had_ to be Covenant in it. Suddenly, the doors slid open, revealing more Covenant. "Contacts! Lots of contacts!" The marine shouted.  
"'No Covenant!' Ya had to open your mouth!" Another marine replied sarcastically, making Emile snigger at the Marine who had initially thought there were no Covenant on the ship.  
More Covenant filed through more doors, when at last, a pair of Hunters appeared.  
"Not again..." Scarlett groaned; She hated Hunters, mainly for how dangerous in combat they where. Soon enough however, the Hunters were down, along with the rest of the Covenant who had attacked.  
"Area secure, Sir," A marine informed John. He turned to the rest of the group, "We'd better keep moving. How about that door?" He gestured to the door the Hunters had come through.  
The group continued down a corridor, and came across more doors, which appeared to be locked. "The door's locked. No way through." A marine informed the group.  
"We can use the side passages to find a way around." Cortana suggested.  
"We'd be sitting ducks in that narrow space," Parker pointed out. "We can hold this position if two of you can find your way around and open the door from the other side, SPARTANs."  
"Chief, Six, you two go and find the controls to get the door open. The rest of us will hold position and keep watch." Carter ordered.  
"Alright, Chief, Six, let's see if we can find a way to open this door." Cortana told Scarlett and John.  
Scarlett and John went to find the controls, coming across a balcony overlooking another Cargo Bay.  
"Wait," Cortana said suddenly, "That's the locked door down there. The Marines and the rest of Noble are waiting on the other side. The controls to open it must be somewhere in this room." She informed the duo.  
John jumped down to the lower level, activating the switch and allowing the Team to continue onwards.  
More Covenant attacked, but like before, were easily taken care of.  
"All clear!" A marine informed the group.  
"We should get moving." Cortana told them.  
"Alright, everybody stay cool," Another marine said, trying to keep everybody calm. "Yell if you see anything."

Eventually, the group made it to another large docking bay, just in time to witness a Covenant dropship taking off. They continued around the docking bay, fighting more Covenant, until they reached the door on the other side.  
"Hey, which way should we go now? All the doors on this level are locked!" A marine said.  
"Wait a moment," Cortana replied, "I'm going to access the Covenant Battlenet and locate an override code to open a door."  
"You'd better hurry Cortana, we can't hold them off all day." A Marine replied, impatient.  
"Working on it," Cortana responded, before speaking to John, "I'd like to see you crack a 128,000-bit modulating encryption key."  
John simply rolled his eyes jokingly in return, just as a another pair of Hunters entered the room.  
"Hunters!" Jun cried, giving everybody a heads-up.  
Jorge felt even more annoyed that he didn't have his turret with him, as it would have been very useful against Hunters.  
Scarlett threw a plasma grenade at one Hunter, injuring it badly, whilst Jun finished it off with his Sniper Rifle.  
Meanwhile, Jorge and Kat attacked the second Hunter with their Assault Rifles, swiftly dodging any attacks the Hunter returned, with John quickly finishing it off. "Got it," Cortana suddenly spoke up. "The door is open. Everyone should move through now. I can't guarantee that it won't lock again when it closes."  
The group entered the doorway, continuing along another corridor, encountering a group of Grunts and some Elites. They were quickly cleaned up, and the group continued onwards, encountering Stealth Elites. They were also taken care of quickly.  
The group had finally made it to the second level of the ship. The group came across the Bridge of the Covenant Ship, encountering yet more Covenant, along with a Zealot Shipmaster. Eventually, the Covenant, including the Zealot, had been taken care of.  
"This looks like the ship's command centre. The Captain's transponder signal is strong, he must be close." Cortana told the group.  
"This is a good spot, SPARTANs. We'll mind the store here while you go find the Captain. Good luck." A marine informed Noble Team and Chief.  
Soon enough, they came across a brig, but with no signs of the Captain, it appeared to be empty.  
"We must be in the brig. These look like holding cells. There are probably multiple detention stations. The Captain must be in one of them. We need to keep looking for him." Cortana told the group.

At last, they came across the cells holding Captain Keyes and the other marines. "It's the Chief and Noble!" A marine suddenly shouted out, having spotted them.  
"Chief! Noble! Let me out, man!" A second yelled.  
Keyes remained calm, "Watch out Chief, the Covenant guards are using some sort of stealth armor." He warned John.  
After neutralising some Stealth Elites and another Zealot, Keyes spoke up again, "Good work, SPARTANs."  
"That was amazing, SPARTANs, you guys really kicked the shi―" A corporal suddenly spoke up, but was abruptly interrupted by Keyes, "Stow it, Corporal!" He ordered the marine, before speaking to John, "Chief, open these cells, and let's get the hell out of here. The power control's along the back wall."  
The Chief nodded to Jorge, who was by the power control; Jorge activated the controls, opening all the cell doors.  
John immediately helped Captain Keyes to his feet. "Coming here was reckless. You all know better than this… thanks." Keyes told the SPARTANs.  
Keyes and the SPARTANs left the cells. Keyes turned to the marines and began to address them, "Marines! Lock and load your weapons, let's be ready to move." "Okay, Sir." One Marine replied.  
"Yes, Sir." Another responded.  
"While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it… "Halo"." Keyes informed everybody.  
"One moment, sir. Accessing the Covenant Battle net," Cortana replied, pausing slightly before continuing, "According to the data in their networks, the ring has some kind of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly, they believe that Halo is some kind of weapon. One with vast, unimaginable power."  
"And it's true… The Covenant kept saying that whoever controls Halo controls the fate of the universe." Keyes replied.  
"Now I see… I have intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team, scouting for a "control room". I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser that I damaged during the battle above the ring. But they must be looking for Halo's control room." Cortana responded.  
"That's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it against us and wipe out the entire human race," Keyes replied, pausing, before addressing the SPARTANs and Cortana, "SPARTANs, Cortana. I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room."  
Keyes then turned to the Marines, "Marines! Let's move!" He ordered, picking up a Needler.  
"Yes, Sir." One Marine responded.  
"Okay, Sir." Another sounded.  
"Chief, you have the point." Keyes told John, who nodded.

"We should head back to the shuttle bay and call for evac." Cortana told the group.  
A pair of Stealth Elites armed with Plasma Rifles charged in, attacking the group.  
"Hostiles!" Carter yelled out at the sight of the Elites. Eventually, though, the Elites were down.  
The group eventually came across the Bridge again. Scarlett gasped at the sight of Parker and the other Marine's corpses.  
She hadn't personally known them, but they had worked together for the majority of the time, and so seeing them like this wasn't easy for her.  
"There was nothing we could do." Jorge told her solemnly.  
"Look out!" Kat suddenly shouted, as a Stealth Elite with an Energy Sword charged towards Jorge and Scarlett.  
Jorge began shooting the Elite, but thankfully, John had managed to kill it before it could do any damage to the two. The second Stealth Elite was quickly taken care of by the group.  
"We made it!" Cortana exclaimed, before addressing Echo 419, "Cortana to Echo 419 - We have the Captain and need extraction on the double."  
"Negative, Cortana. I've been engaged by Covenant air patrols, and I'm havin' a tough time shakin' 'em. You'll be better off findin' your own ride… sorry." Foehammer replied.  
"Acknowledged, FoeHammer. Cortana out," She replied, before speaking to the Captain, "Air support is cut off, Captain. We need to hold here until she can move in."  
"Aw, man! We're trapped in here! We're screwed! We're screwed, man!" A marine began shouting.  
"Stow the bellyaching, soldier. Remember you're a leatherneck," Keyes scolded the marine. "Cortana, if you and the Chief can get us into one of those Covenant dropships I can fly us outta here." Keyes told Cortana.  
"Yes, Captain. There's a Covenant dropship still docked." Cortana replied. Suddenly, the doors opened, and waves of Grunts poured out. The SPARTANs, Keyes, and Marines were easily able to repel the attackers.

Finally, John released the clamps from the drop-ship. "That's it. The dropship is loose." Cortana informed the group.  
"Everybody, mount up. Let's get onboard." Keyes ordered. Everybody got onboard the drop-ship.  
"Give me a minute to interface with the ship's controls." Cortana informed Keyes.  
"No, no need. I'll take this bird out myself." Keyes replied.  
Suddenly, a pair of Hunters appeared and began firing on the drop-ship.  
"Captain! Hunters!" Cortana warned Keyes.  
"Hang on!" Keyes replied, ramming the Hunters with the drop-ship.  
"Nice one, sir!" A marine called out.  
"Time for a little payback." Keyes said, as he flew the drop-ship out of the Truth and Reconciliation's hangar.


	5. The Silent Cartographer

**A/N:**

**Apologies for the long wait between update times, I've been busy. And another apology for being a slightly shorter chapter.**  
**Also, I gave Jorge his turret back because honestly, I really wanted him to have it from now on. XD My original plan was to have him getting it back in Halo 2, but eh, I couldn't wait that long. XD**

**…On another note, it's my Birthday tomorrow! XD**

* * *

_**AWAKENED DESTINY CHAPTER 4**_ **- The Silent Cartographer**

* * *

The Pelican drop-ships flew low to the surface of Installation 04, preparing to drop off Noble Team and the Master Chief.  
"The Covenant believe that what they call 'the Silent Cartographer' is somewhere under this island. The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's control center. The island has multiple structures and installations. One of them contains the map room." Cortana informed everybody onboard the Pelicans. "We're approaching the LZ, it's gonna be hot! Get set to come out swingin'. Touchdown! Hit it, Marines!" Foehammer called out.  
Everybody jumped out of the Pelican. Jorge was slightly slower, as he had finally managed to get another machine-gun turret from an armory before they landed. The weight of it reminded Jorge of the days fighting the Covenant on Reach, but also the years before.  
All in all, it made him feel like himself, although he had almost forgotten what it was like to lug it around again.  
It was going to be a pain to keep up with the Team and Chief again, but this time Jorge didn't mind quite as much.  
Not surprisingly, the area was full of Covenant Troops. The grunts were easily handled, whilst Jorge mowed down any Elites with his turret.  
Once all the Covenant in the area were neutralised, Foehammer suddenly sounded over COMMS, "Echo 419 inbound, somebody order a Warthog?"  
"Hey, I didn't know you made house calls, Foehammer!" Stacker called out in reply.  
"You know our motto: We Deliver." Foehammer replied.  
Two other Pelicans escorted Forhammer, carrying two additional Warthogs for both Noble and the Chief.  
Carter, Jun and Emile boarded one Warthog, Kat, Scarlett and Jorge in the next, and finally, Chief got into the driving seat of the third with some Marines.  
"Okay, let's move out," Cortana advised, "Let's go find the map room that will show us the location of Halo's control center."  
Noble and Chief headed straight towards the Cartographer. Just as they approached the building, Cortana called out, "They're already inside! We need to get in there quick, before they discover the location of Halo's control center!"  
"Anyone else see what I see?" Hosky asked, titling his head toward an incoming drop ship, "How are we supposed to get around that, huh?"  
"We defend ourselves, that's how." Carter replied confidently. It seemed that he really was taking leadership of the Noble-Chief Team.  
The group got out of their Warthogs' and encountered a group of Jackals up a ramp. John swiftly threw a frag grenade, blowing the Jackals up. Jorge and the rest of Noble were quickly able to get rid of the remaining Grunts. A Zealot stood by the front entrance of the facility. The Team engaged it, but it retreated inside the facility, the doors beginning to close.  
"Don't let them lock the doors!" Cortana warned. Despite their best efforts, the door did, eventually close.  
"Now what?" Emile asked, frustrated.  
"Interesting...I underestimated the Covenant's understanding of Halo's subsystems." Cortana mused, "They've locked the doors, and we don't have enough firepower to get through them."  
"Cortana to Keyes," Cortana called Keyes over COMMS.  
"Go ahead, Cortana. Have you found the control center?" Keyes asked in response.  
"Negative, Captain. The Covenant have impeded our progress. We can't proceed unless we can disable this installation's security system."  
Keyes paused slightly before replying, "Understood. We're still en route to the objective. I may be out of contact when we get there," He paused again, thinking of a plan for the Team. "Here are your orders. I want you to use any means necessary to force your way into the facility and find Halo's control centre. We have to get to the center before the Covenant, and failure, people, is not an option." He urged everyone.  
"Echo 419 to ground teams. I'll stay on station and keep an eye out for Covenant boogies." Foehammer informed all ground teams.  
"Second squad, ready to roll! Soon as everybody's topside!" Stacker injected.  
"LZ looks secure, Sir, nothing moving." A marine said.  
"Good luck, people. Keyes out." Keyes said, finally.

"We need to find the security override to get this door open." Cortana advised the Team. They all nodded and hopped back into their Warthogs.  
The Team came across a path, largely subsided by a large tree, "It looks like there is a path leading to the interior of the island." Cortana pointed out.  
The path was too narrow for the Warthogs to fit through, so they had no option but to leave the 'Hogs behind and continue on foot.  
The Team continued to the security substation. Eventually, they came across two Hunters.  
"_More_ Hunters?" Scarlett groaned, irritated. The Hunters beams began glowing and making a charging sound, which John knew that it meant they were about to fire. "Everybody, get to some cover!" He yelled out, surprising everyone.  
They did as they were told, however, and managed to evade the Hunters beams.  
Noble managed to fire some shots at the Hunters, continuously taking cover when the Hunters returned fire. With the Hunters distracted, John managed to get behind them and finish them off.  
Suddenly, a small group of Jackals appeared on a hill opposite the group. Jun managed to Snipe them, taking advantage with the distance between them. The group continued onwards, following the path where the Jackals has emerged from. A few Jackals, Grunts and an Elite came out of hiding, but were easily taken care of. Once the Team had finally entered the security substation, they were confronted by another pair of Hunters.  
Eventually, however, the Hunters were down. "Use the holo panel to shut down the security system." Cortana advised John.  
John nodded, and finally, shut down the security system. "Good. That should open the door that leads into the main shaft." Cortana informed John.  
As the Team headed back down the hallway and towards the exit, a frantic message suddenly sounded over COMMS, "Mayday, mayday! Drop ship Bravo 022 taking enemy fire! Repeat! We are under heavy fire and are losing altitude!"  
"Understood. We're on our way." Cortana responded.  
A group of stealth Elites suddenly appeared, but where easily taken care of with Jorge mowing them down. "Good job!" Scarlett praised him, patting his back. They continued back to the Warthogs, coming across a group of Jackals, which were easily taken care of. As they clambered back into their Warthogs, John noticed the wreck of Bravo 022, with bodies of marines and Covenant lying around it.  
"Chief, Bravo 022 was bringing us some heavy weapons," Cortana informed him. "After I saw we were up against Hunters, I thought we could use them. Let's move down the beach. Keep an eye out for any cargo we can salvage."  
The group returned to the entrance of the Silent Cartographer, where two Hunters were guarding. The Hunters were eventually taken care of, allowing the Team to proceed into the Silent Cartographer. After reaching the third of four floors, Foehammer called out over COMMS, "Foehammer to ground teams, you got two enemy dropships coming in fast!"  
"Dammit! Okay, people, we got company comin', let's set the table. Engage enemy forces on sight!" Stacker responded.  
"It'll be easier to hold them off from inside the structure. Can you get inside?" Cortana asked Stacker.  
"Negative! They're closin' in too fast, negative!" He paused for a moment before adding, "Chief and Noble! You gotta find the Cartographer! We'll keep 'em busy as long as we can!"  
"Give 'em hell, Marine." Cortana encouraged Stacker, before addressing the group again, "We'll be in a tight spot if we don't get out of here before additional reinforcements arrive. Let's find that map."

Eventually, John and Noble Team had reached the Cartographer.  
"There. That holo-panel should activate the map." Cortana pointed out. John activated the holo-panel, and watched, with the rest of Noble, as The Silent Cartographer holo display began to spin, and the diagram of Halo began to break into sections.  
"Analysing... Halo's control centre is located there. That structure appears to be some sort of temple or shrine, if I've interpreted this correctly," Cortana mused, pausing slightly before adding, "Interesting. A shrine is an unlikely place to put such a significant installation."  
"Cortana to Captain Keyes." Cortana called Keyes again.  
There was a pause before Foehammer replied, "The Captain has dropped out of contact, Cortana. His ship may be out of range or having equipment problems." "Keep trying. Let me know when you've re-established contact, and then tell him that the Master Chief and I have determined the location of the control centre. We'll be heading there as soon as we're topside." Cortana ordered Foehammer.  
"Affirmative. Foehammer out."  
More Covenant reinforcements arrived, including the Zealot that had retreated inside earlier. Eventually though, they were taken care of, the group had made it back to the entrance of the facility.  
"Cortana to Echo 419. Noble, Chief and I are topside, requesting pickup."  
"Roger. On my way." Foehammer replied.

John and Noble boarded the Pelican, just as it lifted off, circling the centre of the island, "Let's get moving. Foehammer. Here are coordinates and a flight plan I've worked out." Cortana informed Foehammer.  
"But, Cortana... these coordinates are underground." Foehammer replied, confused.  
"The Covenant did a thorough seismic scan. My analysis shows that Halo is honeycombed with deep tunnels - which circle the whole ring." Cortana informed Foehammer. The structure where the first pair of Hunters appeared suddenly lifted up, revealing an underground tunnel; The Pelican lowered itself into the structure, just as it returned to its original position.  
"I hope your analysis is on-the-money, Cortana. This Pelican won't turn on a dime." Foehammer told Cortana.  
"Look on the bright side, Foehammer. The last thing the Covenant will expect is an aerial insertion... from underground." Cortana replied.


	6. Assault on the Control Room

**A/N: In this chapter, Carter and John clash a lot. In later chapters, the Team are going to have to decide who they want as the Leader of their group.**

* * *

_** AWAKENED DESTINY CHAPTER 5** _-** Assault on the Control Room.**

The Pelican carrying Noble Team and Chief flew up the chasm, and swooped down to the platform in front of them, readying to drop off the group. A grunt who had noticed their presence, had begun screaming and running for the door.  
Emile, being more of CQC person, and known for efficient ruthlessness, had wanted to jump out of the Pelican and chase the grunt down, but refrained himself. "This is as far as I can go," Foehammer suddenly informed the group.  
Maybe Emile would get the chance to get that grunt, after all.  
"Roger that, we can find our way to the Control Centre from here." Cortana responded.  
"Good luck. Foehammer out." The group jumped out of the Pelican and immediately saw the grunts running for the doors. Emile began to pursue, but was pulled back by John.  
"Wait." John ordered.  
"What the hell?" Emile questioned, irritated. "_You're_ not my Commander."  
John narrowed his eyes. "Listen here. I may not be your Commander, but the Covenant are about to swarm through those doors. Trust me, you'd rather not piss me off, so I suggest you do exactly what I say."  
Carter glared at John through his visor. Now John was taking charge of Carter's Team, which infuriated him.  
Just as John had told Emile, the grunts came back, but now with reinforcements. Emile took the opportunity to chuck a frag grenade into the pack however, and so the reinforcements were easily taken care of.  
"Okay, let's move on." John ordered the group, each of them following his orders, apart from Carter.  
After clearing out several rooms, Cortana mused, "The Covenant presence here is stronger than I anticipated. They seem to have the entire region secured."  
The group emerged from the circular rooms, onto a Bridge, where it had begun snowing.  
"Reminds me of home," Jorge mumbled, still upset at how the Covenant had managed to glass his planet, too.  
On the Bridge were several sleeping grunts. Scarlett began assassinating some, as John meeled others.  
"Interesting... the weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial. I wonder if the ring's environment systems are malfunctioning... or if the designers wanted the installation to have inclement weather." Cortana mused, just as the final grunts were finished off.  
Suddenly, Foehammer's Pelican hovered above the Bridge, opening fire on the Covenant forces, who fired back. This was the perfect chance for the group to finish off the remaining Covenant, which they did, just as a distress call came in, "This is Fire Team Zulu requesting immediate assistance from any UNSC forces. Does anyone copy? Over." A Marine sounded over COMMS.  
"I didn't think there were any human forces left on this part of the ring," Cortana mused to the group before responding,"Cortana to Fire Team Zulu, I read you. Hold position. We're on our way."  
"Roger that. Make it quick."  
"Alright Team, let's spread out and find those Marines." Carter ordered.  
John stepped forward, irritated at this, "Who says you're taking charge here?" He asked in his gruff voice.  
Carter was almost intimidated by John, but shook this off. "I'm the Commander of Noble Team. _You_ just joined us at last minute."  
"Actually, you got onboard the Autumn last minute. _You_ joined _me_, at Keyes request."  
Carter glared at Chief, and was about to snap back, before Kat interjected, "Now isn't the time to argue, you two! We have to find those Marines! That's priority one. Then you two can argue."  
Carter ignored this. "Who do you think should take Leadership here, Kat?" He asked.  
Kat shook her head and sighed. "I'm not answering that. Now the rest of us are going ahead. Are you two going to sit here and argue like petty children, or are you coming?"  
John sighed heavily. "I'm coming."  
"Fine." Carter replied sharply.

Eventually, the Team found Fire Team Zulu, had been cornered by Covenant forces. Some Jackals and Elites were fighting the Marines, but were easily taken care of with the combined force of Seven SPARTANs and Jorge's turret.  
"Glad you could join the party, SPARTANs!" A Marine called over.  
After neutralising a shade turret with his Sniper Rifle, Jun suddenly asked, "Can I see Sniper ammo over there?"  
Emile sprinted to the area Jun had sighted and saw a Sniper Rifle, along with a Rocket Launcher. Being a lover of explosions and Close Quarters combat, Emile grabbed the Rocket Launcher and headed back over the group.  
"Okay, so we've got one warthog. Who wants to scout ahead, whilst the rest of us continue on foot?" Carter questioned.  
"Well, Emile should be option one for the Warthog, as he's close quarters," John interjected. "Then we should have Kat and Scarlett joining him. That way, Jun can snipe and Jorge can give covering fire with his turret."  
Carter scowled, annoyed that he hadn't thought of that. It_ was_ a good plan.  
Emile got on the gun of the Warthog, whilst Scarlett drove and Kat took shotgun. The remaining SPARTANs and Marines followed behind, receiving little or no resistance from the Covenant. Eventually, Scarlett, Kat and Emile came across a Scorpion Tank.  
"Sweet!" Emile exclaimed, eager to destroy Covenant with it.  
"Scarlett to the remainder of the Team, we have our eyes on a Scorpion Tank with some Marines. How far are you from our position?" Scarlett asked over COMMS.  
"Rodger that. We're close." Carter responded. Within a few minutes, Carter, John, Jun and Jorge, with the Fire Team Zulu arrived. John switched places with Emile, who was now driving the Scorpion. Jun, Carter and Jorge joined Emile on the Tank.  
"That's the last of 'em - area secure. Stand down, team! They did their damnedest, that's for sure. This is all that's left of my platoon! The Covenant are down here in force... and they brought plenty of toys! I wouldn't have given us a snowball's chance until you showed up, SPARTANs." The sergeant of Fire Team Zulu informed the group.  
The Team decided to take a route through the tunnel to their right. After neutralising a few Ghosts that had blocked their path, the Team encountered a Wraith on the other side of the tunnel.  
"_Whoa_!" Scarlett yelled, backing up to avoid the Wraith's mortars. Emile eventually took care of it, however, with the Scorpion. They moved on, encountering yet more Covenant resistance.  
"Aw, crap. Let's get the hell outta here, man! Somebody call the dropship!" A Marine in Fire Team Zulu shouted out.  
"You stow that garbage right now, mister. You're a Marine, so act like it, dammit! We've got a job to do here." The Fire Team's sergeant scolded the Marine. "Negative, team. No evac available at this time. But the SPARTANs and I could use some assistance." Cortana informed Fire Team Zulu.  
"Okay, Marines. Time to pay back those SPARTANs for pulling your sorry tails out of the fire. Prepare to move out!"

Finally, the Team reached another large open area. "I'm seeing a Wraith on top of those hills." Jun pointed out with his sharp eyes.  
"Dang, they got armor support! Watch out for those tanks!" A Marine yelled, pointing to another Wraith just ahead of them.  
"The Covenant placed their tanks to defend the entrance to the tunnel." Cortana informed the Team, just as the first Wraith was destroyed. Emile began destroying the second Wraith, but was being hit heavily by a Banshee overhead.  
"_Banshee_!" Jun yelled, trying to Snipe it, but having no luck so far. John however, was able to destroy it from the Warthog, whilst Emile successfully destroyed the Wraith on the hills. The group continued onwards, receiving little resistance from the Covenant forces in the area. Eventually, they came across a tunnel, the entrance of which was guarded by two Elites; Neither had noticed the group, so Emile took this chance and quickly blew them up with the Scorpion.  
"Yeeah!" He cried, clearly happy with this outcome. The group drove into the tunnel, where yet more Covenant resistance waited.  
"More Covenant sighted! Man, these guys are like cockroaches..." A Marine mumbled.  
"Like in the way they're everywhere, or the way they could probably survive a nuclear bomb?" Scarlett joked.  
"Hm...both!" The marine replied with a laugh.  
Jun quickly sniped the grunts in the turrets, whilst Scarlett put her foot on the pedal of the Warthog, and ran over the Jackals. The group continued onwards, but where met by more Jackals, plus Hunters who were chasing down a group of Marines.  
"I thought the Covenant had eliminated all the Marine forces in this area." Cortana suddenly said.  
"Not an optimist then, Cortana?" Carter asked.  
"I'm a realist, Commander." Cortana replied.  
The Hunters were taken care of quickly, thanks to Emile. Suddenly, a Covenant drop-ship emerged from the rocks behind the Team, dropping off more reinforcements.  
"Anybody else hear that? Aw, man... Covenant dropship inbound, take cover!" A Marine yelled out.  
"The Covenant are dropping in behind us! We're trapped!" Another yelled.  
"Everybody, calm down," Carter snapped. "I'm sure John has a plan." He added quietly.  
John was surprised at this. He had suspected Carter to put up more of a fight with the Leadership issue. As if Carter was reading his thoughts, he quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I'm just letting you become the Leader of my Team."  
John sighed. Perhaps it would take longer just to work efficiently with the Commander.  
The Team continued onwards, getting closer to the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, a Marine yelled out, "Spartans, the Covenant have stationary guns dug up in those rocks!"  
"We need to get up this ridge," Cortana told the SPARTANs, before addressing the Marines, "Marines, hold your positions. We'll handle those guns." She then spoke to the Team again, "We should scale the ridge and get below those stationary guns."  
"Roger that. Marines, stay here and cover John-117." The Sergeant of Fire Team Zulu replied.

Finally, the Team eliminated all the hostiles in the area and had come across a door in the cliff.  
"Cortana to Fire Team Zulu. I've sent a distress signal tagged with your current position. Hold your position and await evac. The SPARTANs and I are going to continue on ahead." Cortana informed Fire Team Zulu.  
"That's affirmative! Fire Team Zulu out!" A Marine shouted in response.  
At last, the Team arrived at Halo's control room. "This is it. Halo's control center." Cortana informed the Team. "That terminal, try there." Cortana told Chief, who unplugged Cortana's chip from his helmet and placed it in the terminal.  
A few moments later, Cortana appeared above the display. Scarlett noticed her body was green and her eyes red. She didn't look like her usual self, which was purple.  
"Umm, is she supposed to look like that?" Scarlett whispered to Jorge, who shrugged and replied, "No idea."  
"You all right?" John asked Cortana, obviously having seen how she was looking, too.  
"Never been better! You can't imagine the wealth of information. The knowledge... so much... so fast. It's glorious!" Cortana replied with a smile.  
"So...what sort of weapon is it?"  
"What are you talking about?" Cortana snapped.  
"Let's stay focused. Halo... how do we use it against the Covenant?" John asked calmly.  
"This ring isn't a cudgel, you barbarian, it's something else... something much more important. The Covenant were right... this ring... it's Forerunner. Give me a second to access... yes, the Forerunners built this place, what they called a "fortress world", in order to... no, that can't be. Oh, those Covenant fools, they must have known, there must have been signs!" Cortana suddenly said, confusing everybody with what she was referring to.  
"Slow down. You're losing me." John told her, confused, like the others.  
"The Covenant found something, buried in this ring, something horrible, and now... they're afraid." Cortana told the Team.  
"Something buried? Where?" John asked.  
Suddenly, Cortana's facial expression changed. She looked horrified, and the Team couldn't understand why. "The Captain, we've got to stop the Captain!" Cortana suddenly shouted.  
"Keyes? What do we―" John tried to say, but was interrupted by Cortana.  
"The weapons cache he's looking for. It's not really― We can't let him get inside!"  
"I don't understa-." John replied, but again, was interrupted by Cortana.  
"There's no time. Get out of here, find Keyes, stop him! Before it's too late!" Cortana shouted, just as Chief ran out of the control room. Everybody followed but Scarlett, who hesitated.  
"What about you?" She asked Cortana.  
"There's no time! _Go, now_!" Cortana shouted in response.  
Jorge ran back and grabbed Scarlett's hand, forcing her to go with him.


	7. 343 Guilty Spark

_**AWAKENED DESTINY CHAPTER 6** _**- 343 Guilty Spark**

Echo 419's Pelican hovered over the the swamp, allowing John and Noble Team to disembark to search for Captain Keyes.  
"The last transmission from the Captain's dropship was from this area," Foehammer informed them, "That was over twelve hours ago. When you locate Captain Keyes, radio in, and I'll come pick you up."  
"Copy that." Carter responded, scanning for any hostiles in the area. Finding none, the Team lowered their weapons and carefully trod onwards. Suddenly, they heard static and voices over COMMS. The static cut out the message at certain intervals, making some parts of the distress call undistinguishable.  
"Dropship Victor 933...Pillar of Autumn...need assistance. We are under att...attack by some new kind of hostile...isn't Covenant...Captain Keyes has been captured by hostiles...dug in at a large structure in a swamp...We need to pull out. Please...I will set this message to repeat at...regular intervals. Dropship Victor 933, clear."  
"We should try and find that downed Pelican," John suggested. "Everybody, keep your eyes peeled."  
On their way to find Victor 933, Scarlett quietly asked, "If it isn't Covenant that has Keyes, what is it? Are we even prepared for this?"  
"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can get it." Carter replied through gritted teeth. He was leading the squad ahead with John; the two had agreed to work together for at least the sake of Keyes. After all, it was first priority to find the Captain.  
Soon enough, the Team had found the downed Pelican.  
"This doesn't make sense," Kat mused, "We received a beacon from here. But there's nobody here. What's going on?"  
John surveyed the area around the crash site, but found no signs of life, just ammo and supplies. "Nothing here...Odd." He added.  
"Let's move on, then." Carter ordered, taking point with John. Not long after, they came across a crashed Spirit, _Brilliant Gift_. A few Grunts and Jackals were spread by it, but were quickly handled.  
"Isn't it a bit weird to have no Elite's commanding these Grunts and Jackals?" Scarlett asked.  
"Wonder what crashed the Spirit..." Kat thought aloud.  
They group moved further forward, across a log bridge, where they quickly stopped at the sight of shadowy figures running in the distance, as well as friendlies on their motion trackers.  
"What was that?" Scarlett asked, gripping Jorge's arm.  
"Scared?" Emile sneered.  
"Emile, if they're not Covenant, then perhaps you'd like to think about what they could be," Jorge snapped. "We have no idea about what we're up against here."  
"Strange, I just saw friendly forces on our motion trackers. But they've just...disappeared. Completely off the radar." Kat pointed out.  
"We'll keep moving and see what we can find." John replied. "Might be friendlies."  
Once they got to the other side of the Bridge, they heard Assault Rifle shots being fired at a group of fleeing Grunts and Jackals, and saw a frag grenade being thrown at a Shade Turret.  
"Let's hurry, looks like there are Marines nearby." John ordered, sprinting ahead.  
They found nothing, however.  
"This is getting seriously weird." Scarlett pointed out, getting more and more worried.  
The group continued onwards into the structure the Covenant had been fleeing from. A lift come up for them, and they took it, travelling to the lower floor in silence, everybody worrying about what threat they were up against. They left the lift and walked through several rooms, finding both Marine and Covenant bodies.  
"Whatever here, sure slaughtered these guys." Carter said quietly, examining a dead marine's body, before looking over at a Covenant corpse.  
They travelled through more rooms, eventually finding a group of Grunts and Jackals in several rooms, gathering at the doorways, as if they had been expecting something to engage them.  
Once they were down, Scarlett asked, "Were they waiting for us?"  
"No, I expect whatever was here before us," Kat replied. "I mean, it slaughtered both Covenant and the Marines. It would make sense for them to keep their guard up in this instance."  
"_What the hell is that_?" Emile suddenly asked, pointing to the ceiling, which had some green-yellow gloop stuck to it.  
"No idea, Emile," Carter replied. "Just keep away from it. Okay?"  
Emile nodded, his eyes still on it. They moved into the next room, showing signs of a large Firefight that had happened sometime before.  
Suddenly, they noticed a lone Marine shaking, holding a pistol, pointing it at the Team.  
Scarlett tried to approach the Marine, but he began firing at her, so Jorge pulled her back.  
"What's wrong with him?" Jorge hissed.  
"He's in shock." John replied.  
"What happened here?" Carter asked the Marine calmly.  
"Stay back! Stay back, you're not turning me into one of those things!" The Marine shouted, pointing his gun at all of them.  
"We're friendlies." John tried to explain.  
"I'll blow your brains out! Get away from me!" The Marine yelled in response.  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Emile asked aggressively, "We're SPARTANs, for fucks sake!"  
"GAAAAAHH! AAAAAAHH! Don't touch me, you freaks, I won't be like you, I'll die first!" The Marine yelled, clearly becoming more distressed.  
"We're here to help." Scarlett tried to explain.  
"Find your own hiding place, the monsters are everywhere!" The Marine seemed to recognise Scarlett as being a friendly.  
"We should go." Kat suggested to Carter, who nodded.  
"Play dead! That's what I did... played dead. They took the live ones... oh God, I can still hear them! Monsters..." The Marine started sobbing uncontrollably. "We're trying to help you!" Jun yelled, getting irritated.  
"Ahhhhhh! Ahhhhaaahhh... _JUST LEAVE ME ALONE_!" The Marine yelled.  
"Sarge? Mendoza? Bisenti? Oh, God... the things took them, oh God, I can still hear them..." The Marine started mumbling, "They're gone! Get it? GONE!" "We're moving on." Carter firmly told the Team, taking point.  
"They won't get me! Oh God... oh God I don't want to be like them, please, please no, nooo..." The Marine yelled, just as the Team left the room.

The Team found their way to the second floor of the building. They soon came across a door that appeared to have been forced opened. They stepped through it into another room, were they passed another dead Marine. They continued down a ramp, were found another door which appeared to have been opened by a UNSC spoofer.  
John took point, cautiously stepping towards the door and listening for noise. Hearing none, he reached towards the spoofer and was about to type a command into it, but quickly stopped at the sound of noise behind the group.  
"Scarlett, can you see anything?" John asked Scarlett, who was at the back of the group. Scarlett quickly turned around and scanned the area.  
"Nothing." She replied.  
Satisfied with this, John opened the door, but was shocked when a dead Marine fell into his arms. Without another word, he gently lowered the Marine to the ground and looked around. Seeing nothing, he walked in the room and gestured to the rest of the Team to follow. The room was covered in blood, and UNSC weapons lay all around. Everybody stood guard, whilst John inspected a Helmet on the ground, with '**JENKINS**' stamped to it.  
John found a jagged hole through the top of it. He shook his head, before telling the Team, "That body may have been Jenkins. Something ripped through his helmet, obviously not Covenant. He didn't make it."  
Everybody nodded, and continued guarding the area. John noticed how the recorder in the Helmet was still intact.  
"There's a recorder still here. I'm going to check it out." He informed everyone, placing the recorder chip into the socket where Cortana's chip had previously been.

'_**Open Record View (2:52:56 L).**  
**Pvt. Jenkins, Wallace A.**  
**Play**_'

Jenkins looked around the Pelican drop-ship, at several other Marines sitting with him. Johnson's favourite music was blaring over the cabin speakers.  
"Why do we always have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?" Mendoza asked.  
"Watch your mouth, son. This 'stuff' is your history. It should remind you grunts what we're fightin' to protect." Johnson responded.  
"Hey... if the Covenant wanna wipe out this particular part of my history, that's fine by me." Mendoza joked.  
"Yeah... better it than us." Bisenti responded.  
"You ask 'em real nice next time you see 'em, Bisenti. I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige." Johnson told Bisenti.  
"LZ looks clear! I'm bringing us down!" The Pelican pilot informed the Marines.  
"_Go, go, go_!" Johnson yelled, as the Marines departed the Pelican.

'_**FFW**_'

'_**PLAY**_'

The squad had begun advancing through the swamp John and Noble had been in.  
"Stay close, Jenkins!" Johnson ordered Jenkins.  
They reached the entrance of the structure and looking around the entrance, wary.  
"Mendoza! Move it up!" Johnson ordered Mendoza.  
Mendoza took point, crouching through the entrance, gun at the ready.  
"Wait here for the Captain and his squad, then get your ass inside." Johnson told Jenkins.  
"Sir!"  
"Okay, let's move!" Johnson ordered, just as the squad moved into the structure.

_**'FFW'**_

_**'PLAY'**_

The squad stood around an Elite corpse. It's chest had been torn open. Kappus was examining a similar corpse to the left of the squad.  
"-which is weird, right? I mean... look at it," Kappus was saying, prodding the Elite with his foot. "Something... _scrambled_ the insides."  
"What's that? Plasma scarring?" Johnson asked.  
"Yeah... I dunno. Maybe there was an accident. You know, friendly fire or something?" Kappus suggested.  
Keyes approached the squad, "What do we have here, Sergeant?"  
"Looks like a Covenant patrol. Badass Elite units, all KIA." Johnson explained.  
"_Real_ pretty. Friend of yours?" Keyes asked Kappus.  
"Nah, we just met."

_**'FFW'**_

_**'PLAY' **_

The squad were now standing around the door that Noble and John had just arrived from.  
"Right. Well, let's get this door open." Keyes ordered Kappus.  
"I'll try, sir. But it looks like these Covenant worked pretty hard to lock it down." Kappus explained.  
"Just do it, son." Keyes ordered Kappus impatiently.  
"Yes, sir." Kappus removed a spoofer from his pocket and stuck it to the door. After punching in a few keys, the door opened. Kappus waved the squad through, Bisenti taking point, Jenkins close behind. The squad heard an odd rumbling sound, to which Mendoza added, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."  
"Boy, you always got a bad feelin' about something-" Johnson replied, before being cut off by Corporal Lovik over COMMS, "-Captain, Sarge...can you hear me?!" "What's going on, soldier?" Keyes responded frantically.  
"We've got contacts...lots of 'em...but they're not Covenant...they're just tearing through us...what the?!..._ooooohhh...nooooo_!"  
"Corporal? Do you copy, over?" Johnson asked, but no response came.  
"Mendoza, get your ass back up to Second Squad's position, and find out what the hell is goin' on." Johnson ordered Mendoza.  
"But, si-" Mendoza tried to argue, before being cut off by Johnson, "I don't have time for your lip, soldier! I gave you an order!"  
Suddenly, the squad could hear more strange sounds. "Sarge! Listen!" Kappus pointed out.  
The squad scanned the room. "What is that?" Bisenti asked.  
"Where's that coming from, Mendoza?" Johnson asked.  
"Everywhere... I don't- there! ¡_Mira_!" Mendoza replied, pointing to a nearby door, which had just exploded outwards. Squid-like creatures poured out from it. "Ahh... augh! Get it off! Get it off- _augh_!" Riley shouted, an Infection Form attacked to his chest.  
"Hold still, hold still!" Kappus replied, Kappus pulling the creature off of Riley, who then went limp.  
"Let 'em have it!" Johnson yelled, opening fire on the Infection Forms along with Keyes.  
"Sergeant, we're surrounded!" Keyes shouted.  
"God dammit, Jenkins! Fire your weapon!" Johnson ordered Jenkins.  
"There are too many, Sarge!" Mendoza informed Johnson.  
"Don't even think about it, Marine!" Mendoza began staggering for the door, with Infection Forms attached to his back, "Yo, this is loco!"  
"Get back here, Marine! _That's an order_!" Keyes yelled at Mendoza through gritted teeth.  
"_Jenkins_!" Johnson yelled, just as several infection forms attacked Jenkins, blocking his helmet camera.

_**'Unexpected Halt X (WND/INCAP/KIA? Ref.a4 3d.3)'**_

_**'End Record View (2:39:23 L)'**_

John removed the chip from his helmet, throwing it to the ground. "Dammit." He muttered.  
The strange noises that had been heard from the footage was starting up again. "Everybody, get ready for an assault!" John ordered the Team, who stood, weapons at the ready.  
Three doors burst open, allowing Flood to pour in. The Team immediately opened fire, but lost each other easily in the Flood.  
Emile, seeing a flash of blue every now and then, began to worry that the Flood were infecting Carter. He did what he thought was best, and threw a frag grenade into the Flood surrounding Carter. This proved to have not helped though, as Carter had been sent flying out of the group of Flood..._without_ an arm. "_Commander_!" Kat yelled, fighting through flood to get to him. "Are you alright?!" She asked.  
"Get outta here..." Carter said weakly.  
"_No_!" Kat yelled. "Jorge, get over here, _now_! We need you to carry Carter out of here!"  
Sensing the stress in Kat's voice, Jorge ran over quickly, and picked a heavily wounded Carter up.  
John took point with Emile, with Jorge carrying Carter close behind, finally followed by Scarlett, Kat and Jun who held off any Flood following them.  
"We'd better hurry, Carter will be able to get infected easily with that open wound." John informed everybody.  
The Team managed to escape the facility, but when trying to get the lift to come to the lower level, it ended up falling down.  
"_Now what_?!" Kat yelled, stressed.  
"We're going to have to fight our way through." John replied calmly.  
"And Carter?!"  
"Just make sure nothing gets to him!" John ordered.

Eventually, the Team came across a group of Marines who had managed to survive.  
"We could use your help, SPARTANs." A marine spoke up.  
"SPARTANs! Thank God you're here! We've been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission, we, we headed for the RV point, and then these...these things...they ambushed us. We've gotta get out of here!" Chips Dubbo explained, clearly afraid.  
"There's a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position. Find a way above the fog and foliage canopy and I can move in and pick you up." Foehammer advised the group.  
The Marines followed the SPARTANs. They encountered Flood resistance, but were able to fend them off.  
Finally, they reached the tower Foehammer had spoken of. A mist began to appear, and floating robots came out of it, followed by a strange blue object. The robots began to slice away at nearby Flood, ignoring the Marines and SPARTANs.  
Suddenly, the Team found themselves enveloped in bright gold light. They then appeared on top of one of the legs of the tower. The blue object floated in front of them.  
"Greetings. I am the Monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark." 343 Guilty Spark introduced itself. "Someone has released the Flood-" Guilty Spark began, before being interrupted by Scarlett, "_That's_ what those things were?"  
"Yes. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require your assistance. Come. This way." Guilty Spark told them.  
The Team and the Monitor then disappeared in a series of gold flashes.  
"SPARTANs, I've lost your signal! Where'd you go? Noble? Chief?" Foehammer questioned, concerned.

* * *

**A/N: Hm, the next chapter will be interesting, with Carter losing an arm. Still, I'll work something out for him, hehe. **


	8. Yet another update

_**IMPORTANT UPDATE ON PROGRESS **_

**Hey guys, unfortunately I have some frustrating news about the update of this story.**  
**I write all of my fanfics on Notes, on my iPhone 4. Irritatingly enough, my iPhone 4 has actually gone and messed itself up. Generally I was able to use it without a SIM, but now it is demanding that I use a SIM. I don't have a SIM for it, so I can't use it.**  
**I'm now stuck using my old iPhone, which is a 3, and is incredibly laggy and slow. I didn't have my work saved on my 3, so I can't continue to write it until I get the new SIM. I don't have any copies of what I've written so far, either.**

**Soo, I probably can't get a new SIM until Thursday-Friday, which makes me really unsure of when I'll be able to update.**

**I'm ****_really_**** sorry about this everyone, but thanks for being patient so far. I promise I'll update when I can.**


End file.
